Srinagar / New Delhi, Nov 11:
Security forces in Jammu & Kashmir have intensified operations after a blast in New Delhi’s Old City region triggered a nationwide alert. The explosion involved a white Hyundai i20 car near the historic Red Fort on Monday evening, killing at least eight people and injuring about 20 others.
In the wake of the explosion, the Ministry of Home Affairs handed over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the federal counter-terror unit. Investigators now believe the car may have been driven by a Kashmir-based doctor, identified as Dr Umar Un Nabi (alias “Dr Umar”), from Pulwama district.
In Pulwama, police have detained the father of Dr Umar. “We have taken him into custody for questioning,” a senior Jammu & Kashmir Police official told reporters. Earlier, Dr Umar’s family stated he had told them he would “come home in two or three days” before the incident.
The probe has uncovered links to a larger terror-module investigation. Authorities in Faridabad, Haryana, arrested two Kashmiri doctors and seized hundreds of kilograms of ammonium nitrate and other bomb-making material in recent days — material that may have been intended for attacks in the Delhi-NCR region.
A senior investigator said: “The car’s chain of ownership leads back to Pulwama; we are now investigating whether Dr Umar was the driver and whether the explosion was pre-planned or triggered on the spot.”
Security agencies have placed Delhi, NCR, Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir on high alert, citing the possibility of follow-up strikes. The Home Ministry is coordinating with state police forces to ramp up patrols, surveillance, and vehicle checks.
